Steven Radecki's Blog, page 9

Current word count: 3,215
Words this week: 2,105
Average words per day: 301

Much better progress this week.

That said . . . I am so far behind at this point that I think it's pretty unrealistic to expect that I can hit 50,000 words by midnight on November 30th.

Let's see how many words the next week brings before I reset my personal goal for this year.

Current word count: 1,110
Words this week: 1,110
Average words per day: 159

 Um. Yeah. This year is not off to anything near a great start.

While it's tempting to surrender now, I keep chanting the mantra I so often use to encourage others: "Anything word count greater than zero is a good thing."

We'll see what the next week brings.

This year's story is going to be a little different. Instead of going with the science fiction space opera epic I had planned to write this year, I am going down a more cathartic route. It's also going to be a genre that I have never attempted before (not that attempting isn't always fun).

This novel is intended to be a kind of ghost story, so supernatural in spirit. Whether it will also include any elements of horror remain to be seen.

As always, you can follow along with my progress here.

I am extremely pleased to be able to announce that my novella, “Building Baby Brother” is finally available.

I’ve been tempted to proclaim it as “10 Years in the Making!”, but then I’d have to answer for why it took me ten years to complete the final draft.

Suffice to say, for now, that it is finished and it is available for purchase directly from Paper Angel Press or from the major online booksellers.

If you’re at all curious about some of the ten-year history behind this story, here are some (old) blog posts related to it:

The Long Tale of a Short Story Birth of a Story Making a Long Story Short . . .

Otherwise, please buy and enjoy the story. And tell your friends!

Thank you.

Final word count: 22,751
Average words per day: 758

I’d say that this closes the book on another NaNoWriMo, but that would be untrue in several ways.

First of all, the story is far from finished. I’ll undoubtedly pick it up again some day and write the rest of the tale.

Second, although I did not “win” by reaching the goal of 50,000 words, that’s slightly more than 750 words a day that might not otherwise have been written.

Third, it was a useful exercise in helping me build the world in which “Childtime” came to be.

So, although my tenth year of participating was a disappointing one, it was far from a wasted one.

Until next year . . .

Current word count: 22,032
Words this week: 6,695
Average words per day: 956

Well . . . a better week than last week is about all I can claim.

A 50,000-word win seems pretty much not happening this year. Yes, I’m disappointed, but at least I have 22,000-plus words I didn’t have at the start of November.

Let’s see where I end up . . .

Current word count: 15.337
Words this week: 5,369
Average words per day: 767

So . . . a better week than last week.

Although if not by much, I’ll take it. It’s not my worst Week Three word count, but again not by much.

The odds are very slim that I will reach 50,000 words this year. That bothers me a bit, with this being my 10th year of doing this.

But, as I always tell everyone else who asks, “Any word count greater than zero is a Good Thing.”

Back at it . . . to see just how far I can go this year.

Current word count: 9,968
Words this week: 4,949
Average words per day: 707

Well . . . this is not exactly starting off to be a stellar NaNoWriMo year. The last time I did this badly was the year when I didn’t “win”.

I won’t say that it’s impossible for me to reach the goal of 50,000 words this year, but it’s going to be a real challenge.

And, with that, I’d better get back to that challenge.

Current word count: 5,019
Words this week: 5,019
Average words per day: 717

Well, the good news is that this is not my lowest word count ever for the first week.

The bad news is that the only year when it was lower was the year when I didn’t make it to the goal of 50,000 words.

All I can say is that I have a lot of catching up to do. I am not going let my 10th year be one when I don’t hit that goal. As they say, “Sleep is overrated.”

So, back at it.

It being Halloween, I suppose it’s somehow fitting that I have less than a ghost of an idea as to what the story will be for this year’s NaNoWriMo project.

A faint voice keeps whispering to me in the back of my mind, “Steampunk . . . steampunk . . .”. I’m not yet convinced. It’s a genre in which I’ve never written before, which is good, as I almost always like to set myself a new challenge for NaNoWriMo.

And, as if just finding the time and energy to write 50,000 words in one month isn’t challenge enough, I’m also in the process of trying to launch not one, but possibly two new businesses (but more on all that later).

We’ll see, as the muse is being otherwise stubbornly silent. As usual, you can follow along here.